Apple feels Intel chill

But no price cuts yet

A survey by MacWorld magazine in the US indicates that one third of readers are less likely to buy a new Mac computer in the next twelve months. That's rather similar, but slightly more encouraging for Apple than the feedback we received immediately after the announcement that Apple would be moving off PowerPC processors.

Curiously, 13 per cent of readers surveyed said they were more likely to buy an obsolete PPC-Mac in the next year. Whether this is for rational reasons, and they fear a bumpy transition period (as many of you do), or whether it's simply a pledge of fealty, isn't clear from the published results.

From our feedback, readers most likely to buy were professionals who needed the immediate performance of a G5. However, the portable line looks particularly vulnerable in the trasition, and even some G5 purchasers were going to hold off PowerBook buys until Pentium-M based successors appear.

There's no sign of price cuts yet from Apple. But the US Apple Store has started to promote the 3-year AppleCare warranty very heavily - as the primary build-to-order option. A sign that the faithful do need some reassurance.